I have ordered some of those finings from Wilko, along with some white grape concentrate as they are as cheap as as anywhere and I am going to need some more anyway. I won't get a chance to get anywhere near a store to pick it up, but the delivery is only four quid (by the time I drove to the nearest Wilko and paid for parking, there would only be pennies in it anyway). Whilst comparing prices, I looked at degassing tools, and was pretty horrified at the prices for what essentially appear to be shaped sticks. This one gets good reviews, but look at the price! So, I have ordered two long spoons from Wilko (£1.30 each), with the intention of making a degassing tool - I went for two spoons in case I knackered one in my attempts, and if the first one works, I will then have two long spoons and a degassing tool.... My theory is that the majority of the tools are cranked to allow them to stir the entire vessel rather than just the middle bit, or like the Youngs one, they have 'paddles' that stick out to achieve the same; all are intended to be used with an electric drill. So, I reckon if I can heat the stem of the plastic spoon at two points and bend it to form it into a dog-leg, then drill holes through the spoon head, I will have a fairly effective degassing tool? The pear wine has settled out quite a bit already and the top inch or so has started to clear, so I think the way to go is to rack it off into my big bucket, de-gas it (while Mrs C cleans and sterilises the demijohns), add the finings then transfer back to the demijohns and allow to clear? Following that, I will take the strawberry jam wine and transfer it back to the bucket (cleaned and sterilised in between of course), and de-gas it before transferring it back into the containers. Sound sensible?
This blackcurrant juice one isn't very active - it is bubbling, but not vigorously so. Does that seem right @Zigs? I put 5 teaspoons of yeast (Super Yeast that allegedly has nutrient in it), and a couple of teaspoons of nutrient just to give a helping hand. Is that enough yeast for a 5-6 gallon job?
Nah, definitely not - I don't even buy that rubbish for drinking, let alone making wine. I can taste those artificial sweetners a mile off, and I hate them. I can see what looks like froth at the top of the liquid, so it is doing something; and there is CO2 coming off as the gurgler goes occasionally, it just seems slow. Mind you, after the pear wine, anything would look slow
Here is one of three of the strawberry jam wine, complete with instructions lest I die in the night The pear wine is settling out too - I was tempted to top these up, but I am reluctant to do so now as that would only stir the sediment up again? And the blackcurrant (you can just see the foam at the top) What do you reckon to my idea for a de-gas tool?
Are you buying expensive airlock grommets from homebrew shops, or getting these for 12.5 pence each from ebay? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/290938651485_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT Fitting your own grommets will enable you to convert any size plastic (AKA PET) bottle with a wide enough cap into a demijohn. Definitely. No, de-gas before adding finings. If you've no suitable vessel for shaking it in beforehand, pour say half gall at a time into the bucket to release some CO2, then thrash it with a long handled spoon, then repeat until all added, stir in part A finings, leave for recommended time before adding part B finings, but after stirring in this time make sure you remove the spoon because if left in the bucket/fermenter for a second time (to save on re-sanitizing), it will disturb the bottom sediment when finally removed. Sometimes after using 2 part finings there's still some tiny floaty bits on the surface, but a few 'wobbles' of the container will get them to sink.
Thanks @Scrungee - I was going to order these grommets but will look at the Ebay ones now instead What do you reckon to my idea for a home made de-gas tool?
When using 25L fermenters, recipies that foam out of airlocks are best dealt with by holding back on 1 gallon of water and 1Kg of sugar from the recipie's ingredients, and adding them after the initial ferment has died down. Add everything else other than just the extra water and sugar at the beginning and make sure you add the last water and sugar as a solution, because if you add dry sugar to a partially fermented wine it's likely to foam out the fermenter's neck - Google 'nucleation points'.
Thankfully it isn't foaming too much, and there is a good four or five inches of space between the top of the liquid and the bottom of the air lock. I deliberately held back on the nutrient this time, in the hope that I would get a better flavour with a slower fermentation? So far, I have been doing equal quantities of super yeast and nutrient, which is seeing stuff ferment really quickly (or at least it seems that way)
Those grommets are exactly the same as the ones I get from ebay, but they are 10x more expensive and that's without shipping! I've only ever uses shaking a half full glass demijohn to de-gass, a small piece of clingfilm over the neck will prevent contamination from muddy gardening palms and rude sounding release of gas noises will let you know the CO2 is being released.
OK, I just took a peek in the fermenter (couldn't resist) and had a sniff too - and got hit with a vapour that made me recoil (stung my nose, almost as though it was pure alcohol); I have taken a bit of a guess that the yeast was sitting on the top and only working on the surface, so I sterilised my long spoon and have given it a bit of a stir
